Comment | Left election success in Berlin: The staged hysteria of the center

The new object of hate from the bourgeois center: the hitherto untamed Berlin Left Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa I have to admit: I was completely wrong again in the Berlin elections. I would not have thought it possible that Die Linke would do so well and that its success would have such great international impact. However, the campaign that the political center has since launched was completely beyond my imagination. If you look at the pages of “Welt”, “Tagesspiegel” or “Zeit”, you might think that Berlin will soon be ruled by a coalition of the SED and the Palestinian PFLP.

With the hysteria against the left, the middle class is preparing to join forces with the AfD.

But how is this hysteria explained? It is completely clear that the allegations of anti-Semitism are smokescreens. Thanks to the “reason of state” the concept of anti-Semitism has been so empty that it no longer has anything to do with combating actually existing anti-Semitism. The accusations against the Berlin Left are based solely on their attitude towards Israel - and not on prejudices against Jews. The question is therefore how the global state order and the Middle East conflict are interpreted. And regardless of what is correct here: According to German standards, “Jewish Currents,” the most important left-wing Jewish magazine in the USA, would be “certainly unconstitutional” because of its anti-Zionist positions, and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani would be a “notorious Israel hater.” The sole purpose of the accusations of anti-Semitism is to push back and contain the left, which has gained strength at the ballot box.

But what does the middle class actually want to prevent? Many leftists are of the opinion that it is about the expropriation of real estate companies. That's certainly not wrong - the socialization of property shouldn't become a common practice. But it should not be forgotten that public provision is not yet a feature of socialism. For much of the 20th century, public home ownership was a pillar of social democratic politics. Is it possible that the bourgeois center is so afraid of the return of social democracy?

In my opinion, two other aspects are no less important: The Berlin Left should not be shot down because it could pursue left-wing social democratic politics, but because it has a - quite successful - anti-capitalist wing that wants to organize social struggles and reach parts of the migrant population. A connection that the center has always considered extremely dangerous.

But the most important thing is probably: With the hysteria against the left, the middle class is preparing to join forces with the AfD. Emblematic of this is the metamorphosis of Ulf Poschardt, editor of “Welt”. Formerly a “cultural leftist” who wrote books about club life, Poschardt now promotes an openly right-wing extremist project. The real danger to the life and limb of Berliners lies here.

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